Catch of the Day
by ButItsBetterIfItsBrucas
Summary: Where Lucas is jealous and clueless, Brooke knows what's going on, and Haley, Rachel, Nathan, and Peyton are meddlesome friends. With a plan. Lighthearted fluff. BL


**Written as a break from "Mistakes" which was getting a little intense. I needed something light and fluffy. Enjoy.**

**Catch of The Day-**

"Do you think we should make a bet?" I ask, watching Lucas tuck a blanket neatly around a sleeping Brooke.

"A bet on what?" Haley shoots back, leaning against the door frame and watching the scene with us.

"On when the two of them will finally admit that they're fucking insane about each other?" I laugh, rolling my eyes.

Nathan reaches over and slaps the back of my head. I yelp but he only smirks. "Wash your mouth out," he tells me. Grinning.

"Yeah, because your mouth is so clean," I mutter darkly, scowling.

"What was that?" Haley asks, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Nothing Hales," I say, smiling innocently at her. Nathan laughs again but doesn't say anything.

"Do you think we should…help them?" Peyton finally says, tilting her head to the side as we watch Lucas brush a stray strand of Brooke's silky brown hair off her face.

"What do you mean?" Haley asks, turning to frown at her slightly. "You want to set them up?"

A brilliant idea hits me and as I draw in a gasp they all turn to face me.

"What is it?" Haley asks, watching me curiously. "Oh no…" the smile slips off her face when she sees the mad twinkle in my eyes. "Rachel, don't you dare do it."

"Do what?" I ask indignantly. "I didn't even say anything yet!"

"I know that look," Haley says, nodding wisely. "And you, Rachel can be quite the meddling little devil when you want to be. This plan is just pure evil, isn't it?" I shrug and Nathan laughs. "Don't encourage her Nate!" Haley scolds, turning to face the smirking man next to her.

"I am not part of this," Nathan states, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "But I have faith in you," he whispers as he passes me on the way to the kitchen. Haley and Peyton hurry after him and I stay a moment longer to observe my too oblivious friends.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asks Brooke tenderly, sitting down on the edge of the couch where Brooke is resting.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Brooke reassures him sleepily, shifting a little to make room for the blonde.

"You were pushing yourself too hard, weren't you?" Lucas asks worriedly. "I know you love cheering Brooke, but you need to take it slow! I shouldn't have let you go to practice today. After you sprained you ankle I told the doctor I would make sure you didn't do anything too strenuous. I should have waited, I shouldn't have let you do it that many times I—"

"Lucas ah—" Brooke cuts in, silencing Luke with a hand on the shoulder. "I'm okay. Just a little tired." She blinks heavily up at the boy and half smiles. "You were just being a good friend."

"I know…" Lucas sighs. "But sometimes I think that by being a good friend I should do what's best for you, not what you think is best."

Brooke's hand slips off Lucas' shoulder and she draws it back into herself. "That's okay Luke," she whispers, her voice getting lighter as she slips slowly towards sleep again. "Sometimes leaders have to choose between one person and the world." her head turns to the side and away from Lucas. "You have to choose the world. I understand."

Lucas stays on the couch a few minutes longer, watching Brooke as she sleeps. When he finally rises to his feet I hurry into the kitchen so he won't catch me eavesdropping.

"Does anyone mind if we order in tonight?" Lucas asks us as soon as he joins the rest of the group.

"What's wrong with Brooke?" Peyton asks, looking up from a newspaper she is reading.

"She's tired." Lucas says shortly. "Nobody is to wake her up, am I clear?"

"Yes," we chorus dutifully.

Later when we are sitting around the table eating our dinner I decide to start my master plan.

"That guy was really hot today," I say, taking a bite of rice.

"Oh, is little Rachel actually interested in guys now?" Haley asks, laughing merrily at me. "Who would have guessed?"

"Don't tease her," Lucas scolds, sending Haley a warning look although he appears to be fighting back a laugh.

"Well it wouldn't matter if I liked him or not anyway," I continue, intent on wiping that smirk right off Lucas' face. "He seemed far too interested in Brooke for him to pay any mind to me."

As predicted Lucas' twinkling eyes immediately go dark. "What?" he asks, turning his whole attention to me now.

"Oh yes, I saw him," Nathan adds, keeping a straight face although I can see from the twitch in his jaw it is now him holding back a laugh. "He was quite good-looking. All over Brooke too."

"Was she…" Lucas clears his throat and I can tell he is trying to hold back his anger. "Why didn't you guys stop him?"

"Why should we?" I ask, looking confused. "Brooke seemed to be enjoying the attention."

This is the last straw for Lucas who pushes his chair back with a sudden fierceness and rises to his feet. He towers over us but only Haley looks slightly frightened.

"Do you guys realize that Brooke is in a fragile situation right now and that guy could have been anyone? He could have been a stalker or a mass murderer, or…or…someone who just wants Brooke for her body! You all know we need to stop her from slipping back into her previous…_ways_, and this is how you all handle it? Letting some creep flirt with her?! He could have taken her off to a bar, gotten her drunk, and then kidnapped her to some strange country where we would never see her again! And you all just stood around letting it happen!"

"Luke," Haley says timidly, looking up at Lucas. "I don't think that he was a kidnapper—I think that Brooke knew what she was doing…she would never do anything that would hurt herself or any of us…"

"You don't know that, do you?" Lucas asks, glaring fiercely at us all. I send Nathan a small smile and stand up.

"I'm sorry we didn't do anything Lucas," I say apologetically. "Next time I will tell the guy that Brooke Davis is yours and only yours."

"Yeah," Nathan agrees, standing too. "We'll have to remind him that Brooke is taken."

Lucas stands gaping like a fish as we start to file out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight Luke," Peyton says softly as she follows after us. It isn't until we get into the bedroom that we crack up laughing.

--

The next morning when Brooke comes to wake me up I moan and bury my face in my pillow.

"Come on whore, new day is dawning," Brooke croons, rubbing my head softly. "Time for breakfast."

At the mention of food I immediately sit up, sleepy eyes widening at the thought. "Breakfast?" I murmur, turning to look at her.

"Yeah," Brooke smiles, "Haley cooked."

I sit up and wrap a blanket around our shoulders, pulling her close to me so it can cover us both. "Are you feeling better?" I ask, looking at her curiously. Brooke nods and we make our way into the kitchen where we pull two chairs together and sit down waiting for Haley to serve us our food.

"Where's Nathan?" Peyton asks, looking up from her plate of eggs.

"Sleeping," Haley replies, rolling her eyes as she plops two plates down in front of Brooke and I. I stick one hand out of the blanket to grab my fork but hiss at the cold air that creeps into the blanket and Brooke whines softly.

"Peyton?" Brooke says coyly, looking up at the curly headed blonde from under her eyelashes. Peyton looks up from her breakfast and stares at Brooke for a second before groaning and pulling her chair closer to us. I retract my arm back into the warm cover of blankets and sigh contently as I lean back against the chair. Peyton grabs Brooke's fork and spears some eggs onto it, keeping a hand under the fork as she raises it to Brooke's lips.

"Open wide!" she says, and although she tries to act annoyed I can see the spark of laughter in her eyes. Brooke opens her mouth and just as Peyton is putting the fork in her mouth the door opens again and Lucas makes his way in. He pauses at the sight of Peyton feeding Brooke and I but then he just shakes his head and sits down across from me.

"Good morning," he says, looking everywhere but at Brooke. I raise my eyebrows at him but he just looks away and I send Peyton a small mischievous look.

"Oh Peyton, I totally forgot to show you my new dress! You have to come see it!" I quickly slip out of the blanket although I yelp at the cold morning air I wrap it snuggly back around Brooke. "Are those eggs ready Haley? Why don't we all bring them up to Nathan on the way to my room? I'm sure he'd love breakfast in bed…"

Haley looks confused and opens her mouth to say something but Peyton hastily grabs her arm and pulls her towards the door.

"Sounds like a great idea!" Peyton pipes up, smiling brightly at Haley. "Let's go."

"Oh Lucas," I add, turning once I get to the doorway. "You better feed Brooke. We don't want her catching a cold, do we?"

Brooke is sending me a dark look that lets me know that she is aware of _exactly_ what we're trying to do but I just blow her a kiss and twirl myself out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

--

"Yeah well I think it's a crap idea," Peyton says, rolling her eyes at me.

"We should do it."

I turn, surprised, to face Haley. Out of everyone she was the person I had expected to object.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asks, settling himself comfortably against the headboard of his bed. "Because I don't have to if you don't want me to."

Haley hops onto the bed and curls herself against Nathan's side as he wraps an arm around her waist. She places a chaste kiss on his forehead and smiles up at him.

"It's the best plan we've got."

"Yay!" I cheer, bounding up onto the bed with them. Nathan shifts over a little and I rest my head on Haley's lap, my legs curling up to get more comfortable. "They are so going to owe us for this."

"What's wrong Peyt?" Nathan asks, frowning a little as we all look up to see a pouting Peyton. "Do you really think it's that bad of a plan?"

"Noo," Peyton says slowly, drawing out her 'O' and looking at us mournfully. "Why don't I get any cuddles?"

"Because you said my plan was crap!" I say with an air of superiority. When Peyton widens her puppy eyes I stick my tongue out at her. Nathan laughs and a giggle bursts out of Haley's lips. She runs her hands through my hair and grins at Peyton.

"Aw, is silly old Rachel being mean to you?" Haley says trying to sound concerned although I can feel her body shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Yes," Peyton says pitifully, sticking her bottom lip out a little more and widening her doe eyes to an impossibly large size.

"Come on then," Haley says, holding a hand out for the blonde. Peyton grins and skips happily over to the bed, hurt doe eyes forgotten in the pleasure of joining us. She sticks her tongue out at me and sighs in contentment as she drapes herself across our bodies, resting her head on Nathan's stomach. I shift my legs a little, causing Peyton's body to bounce and she sends me a small glare.

Nathan's hand creeps out from around Haley and tickles the side of my neck. I squeal and he sends me a lazy smile in return. I grin back and raise one hand up to grab his, cuddling closer against Haley's side.

The door opens and we look over to see Brooke and Lucas standing in the doorway.

"I told you they weren't eating," Brooke says, nudging Lucas with her hip.

"They could have been!" Lucas says defensively, looking at Nathan's uneaten food tray. "Why is it that nobody is ever doing what they say they're going to be doing?"

"I do!" Brooke says, turning to glare at the young man beside her.

"Oh, like on Thursday when you said you were going to the mall and you were really going to meet up with Skills and Bevin?"

"You read my mail?!" Brooke shrieks, and Lucas' eyes widen, his mouth opening and closing as he fishes around his mind for a reasonable excuse for knowing where she was the other day. He takes a step back and Brooke moves forward, her hand raised to hit him.

"Wait, no, I was…" I have a sudden irrational fear that Brooke is about to kill Lucas but I only shrug and settle down to better watch.

"You were what? Huh Lucas? You were a snooping, stupid, privacy ignoring _idiot_!" She's screaming by the end of the sentence and Lucas backs up only to find himself pressed up against the wall.

"Um…sorry?"

"I'm going to kill you Lucas Scott!" She screams, launching herself at the frightened looking boy who takes off running out the door.

"Don't get blood on the carpet!" Haley screams after them when we hear the sound of something being thrown.

"This might be a little harder then I thought…" I say, frowning slightly.

--

Brooke is sitting on the couch in the living room, her legs drawn up to her chest hugging a pillow. Nathan walks out and sits next to her, watching silently as she brushes a tear off her face. She tries to laugh but it just comes out as a strangled sob and Nathan wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.

"You okay?" he asks in his rumbling deep voice. Brooke nods and smiles, trying her best to stop crying.

"I'm being stupid," she says softly, brushing away the fresh tears.

"That you are Miss Davis," Nathan laughs, rubbing her shoulder affectionately.

"It's just…" she pauses and shakes her head but Nathan squeezes her in a silent motion to go on. "I thought…I thought it was love."

"Oh, I know, but we always do."

"And even when I know what's going to happen, every single time, it breaks my heart a little more." She buries her face in Nathan's shoulder and he rubs her back comfortingly, whispering soothing words into her ears.

"Brooke…maybe you should just stop watching The Notebook."

She pulls her face back and looks up at him, clearly shocked. "Stop…watching it?"

"Well," he tries to break it to her gently, but Brooke's eyes are darkening at the mere thought. "I know that you want her to end up with the rich soldier guy, but you know its Noah in the end, and you always end up crying about it so…maybe you should just…give it a break for a while."

Before he knows it Brooke has slapped him on the chest—hard—and is sitting on the other end of the couch. "Don't say stupid things like that," she snaps, turning to face the television.

A small smile touches the corners of Nathan's lips and he hops up onto the couch, crawling over to where Brooke is and looking down at her from his hands and knees.

"Come on Brookie, I was just kidding," Nathan murmurs, tilting his head down. Brooke rolls over so she is on her back, her face only inches away from Nathan's.

"Shut it Ball boy, I don't care." She turns her face back towards the TV and starts flipping through channels. "I think we should buy a slide."

"Brooke?" Nathan asks, his voice low and just husky enough that Brooke turns back to look at him. It crosses her mind that this is a very suggestive position to be in but she brushes thought away and looks at Nathan through her eyelashes.

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?" Suddenly he looks like a little insecure boy and Brooke gives him a crooked smile with dimples on full display. She cups his face in her hands and pushes her head back into the couch a little more so she can see him better.

"Of course I love you."

"_What the _hell_ is going on here_?!" Somewhere upstairs Haley drops the book she was holding and Peyton's pencil drops from her grasp. Lucas continues staring murderously at Brooke and Nathan who haven't moved from their incriminating position on the couch.

"Hey Luke," Nathan finally says as Brooke drops her hands from his face. "What's up?"

"What's _up_?" Lucas asks his voice dangerously low. If looks could kill then Nathan would be nothing but lingering ashes blown by the wind.

"Yeah, going somewhere big Bro?" Nathan smiles that charming Scott smile that is constantly sending girls into fits of giggles and wistful sighs and flirtatious glances but it doesn't have any effect on Lucas who sends him a glare that would make most normal people feel less then a centimeter tall.

"Get. Off. Brooke." His voice is steady and his eyes shoot metaphorical daggers at his younger brother—who seems unfazed by the whole situation and simply rises gracefully to his feet, pulling Brooke up with him.

"I think I'm gonna go check up on Haley," Nathan says with a smile. "I'll catch you two up later."

Brooke stands silently as Nathan leaves the room. Lucas doesn't take his eyes off her. After a few minutes of silence Brooke looks up at Lucas.

"Want some ice cream?" she asks, brushing her hair from her face. Lucas follows her to the kitchen where she gets out the bowls while he gets the spoons and vanilla ice cream. After both bowls are full they sit down at the table and Brooke takes her first bite. Her eyes close and her mouth slowly swallows before opening slightly to let out a blissful sigh. Lucas watches her silently. On the second bite her tongue flicks out to lick the ice cream before she inserts the spoon in her mouth. Lucas' pulse jumps and suddenly the room seems a lot hotter then it was a moment ago.

"Aren't you hungry?" Brooke asks, her tongue moving in swirls around the ice cream on her spoon. "It's really good."

Lucas tries to avert his gaze from the tantalizing sight in front of him and takes a quick bite of his ice cream. He doesn't even notice when the cold stings at his front teeth too caught up in the girl in front of him because she is just. That. Good. She takes another bite and a small purr seems to resonate from her throat causing Lucas' breath to hitch.

Yes, it is getting very hard to remember how to breathe. Brooke licks her lips slowly and glances up at Lucas who is staring at her with a strange look in his eyes.

"Lucas?"

Before he knows it, before he has a chance to hold himself back, Lucas has rounded the table and is next to her, brushing one thumb against the corner of her lips where there had been a small smudge of ice cream.

His fault. Her gain.

She watches him curiously then takes another bite of ice cream. Somehow, against all laws of gravity, she manages to get some ice cream on her nose this time and it seems to draw Lucas in like a fish on a hook.

The corner of her lips tilt up in a smile and Lucas, with a small grin in return, dips down and licks it off her nose.

In the other room three people hop up and down in silent excitement as the fourth rolls her eyes.

With a sigh, Peyton hands Rachel the money.


End file.
